OTR Interviews

Does Carly Fiorina consider VP talk 'sexist'?

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," August 7, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: It was total domination. Yesterday, you voted on Twitter using #Greta and told us who won the early Fox News Debate and well, former Hewlett-Packard CEO and presidential candidate, Carly Fiorina, ending up the big winner with 81 percent of our Twitter vote. And take a look at some of her best debate moments. She even addressed the "Trump Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLY FIORINA, 2016 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's tapped into an anger that people feel. They're sick of politics as usual. You know, whatever your issue, your cause, the festering problem you hoped would be resolved, the political class has failed you. That's just a fact. And that's what Donald Trump taps into.

It is disturbing that every time one of these home-grown terrorists attack occurs, and as your question points out, they are occurring with far too great frequency, it turns out we had warning signals. We need to be very well-aware of the fact that China and Russia are using technology to attack us just as ISIS is using technology to recruit those who would murder American citizens. Hillary Clinton lies about Benghazi, she lies about e-mails, she is still defending planned parenthood, and she is still her party's frontrunner. 2016 is going to be a fight between conservatism and a Democrat party that is undermining the very character of this nation. We have to undo a whole set of things that President Obama has done that get at the heart of his disrespect and disregard for too many Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAN SUSTEREN: Carly Fiorina joins us. Nice to see you, Carly.

FIORINA: Great to be with you, Greta. Thank you.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, Carly, a big night last night. But before you did the debate, you were here "On the Record" and I asked you what you wanted to accomplish at the debate. Here's what you told me the night before.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FIORINA: I want people to know who I am because only 40 percent of Republicans have heard my name. I have the lowest name ID Of anyone in the field. I want people to understand that I can win this job and do this job, and I want people to understand something of what I will do when I'm in the job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAN SUSTEREN: Did you achieve that, Carly? Do they now know who you are?

FIORINA: I think so, yes. More know who I am. And everyday I hope even more will no who I am. That is part of what this takes is getting to know people and having people get to know you.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. It's been a short time but do you have any idea whether for instance that money is pouring in or anything else? I mean notice any change in the last -- I know it hasn't been very long. But do you feel it in anyway?

FIORINA: Well, we certainly feel it in our online fundraising without a doubt. And we certainly feel it as well in the mentions in the media of all kinds. And we certainly feel it in the Twitter verse and on Facebook. So I think we're gathering momentum, which is great.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. 81 percent -- and I should add that everybody else is well below 10 percent -- so I mean it's quite a commanding Twitter vote that you won last night. All right. Now that you want people to get to know you, one of the things that people have known a little bit about is that you were the CEO of Hewlett-Packard. You got fired from there. So tell us the story about what happened. Then tell me what the -- how the viewers should consider this in evaluating you as a candidate.

FIORINA: Well, I led Hewlett-Packard through a very difficult time, the dotcom bust, post 9/11, the worst technology recession in 25 years. And in tough times sometimes tough calls are required. But despite those tough times, we took from Hewlett-Packard from about $44 billion to almost $90 billion in revenue. We quadrupled its growth rate, quadrupled its cash flow, tripled innovation to 11 patents a day and went from lagging behind in every product in every market to leading in every product in every market.

At the end of my six years, I was fired in a board room brawl and I was fired because when you lead you must challenge the status quo. And when you challenge the status quo, you make enemies. I started out as the secretary in a nine-person real estate firm, ultimately, became the chief executive of what we grew to become the largest technology company in the world. And I'm now running for the presidency of the United States. That story is only possible in this country. And yet what is happening to this country, led by progressive policies such as Hillary Clinton wants to put in place, what's happening in this country is the potential of too many people is being crushed and the potential of those little businesses that give most Americans their chance, like they gave me a chance, are getting crushed as well.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, well, let me have a little fun with you in the Twitter universe you won so handsomely in our debate. I found a tweet that might interest you. It's from @GregBinNC, and he says in part, "I'm undecided but love Carly Fiorina for the first time I heard her months ago. But she must tell me why my printer jams." I guess that was a Hewlett- Packard -- if he's got a problem with his printer. Can you help him with that?

FIORINA: I can't. You know, I haven't been at Hewlett-Packard for 10 years now. So unfortunately, he's going to have to call the service center.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Good. Well -- all right. Now, let me ask you. Every time people talk about you they say Carly Fiorina would be a good vice presidential candidate. And I go back and forth thinking is that sexist. Sometimes I think that's horribly sexist but not saying it about any of the other guys that I hear. They're saying it about you. You're running for president. Is that sexist or not that your name gets batted around as vice president when you're running for president?

FIORINA: Well, I don't know. My guess is going forward it will get batted around less in that way. But I think to be president -- and that's what I'm running to be -- requires an understanding of how the economy actually works, I do; an understanding of how the world works and who's in it, I know more world leaders on the stage today than anyone running with the possible exception of Hillary Clinton, only I didn't do photo ops with people; an understanding of how bureaucracies work because our government is one giant, bloated, powerful, corrupt, inept bureaucracy; and an understanding of technology; and most of all an understanding of leadership, which is to challenge the status quo. I think all of those qualities are absolutely necessary in the president of the United States in 2016. We're at a pivotal point in this nation. Politics as usual will not do the job anymore. And honestly, truly, as I said in that debate, whatever people are upset about, the political class and the government has failed them. So we need to try something different now.

VAN SUSTEREN: And I think you even said that Donald Trump had tapped into that anger. Carly, thank you very much for joining us, and I hope you'll come back.